MC Lars talk music biz on CNN Money

Posted by aubin on Monday, May 23, 2011 at 5:00 PM (EDT)

Post-punk laptop rapper MC Lars recently spoke to CNN Money about how musicians like him can make a living supported by - rather than despite - piracy. Lars, who describes hip hop as "the proletariat speaking its mind" talks about how his label, Horris Records, has helped him avoid having to give up the revenue from touring and merchandise. He says more than 60% of his income as a musician comes from MC Lars merchandise which he sells at his shows.

Lars also talks about his goals for the label which is to "help as many talented, like-minded, DIY / punk culture-based indie rappers have as many self-sustained careers as possible" The feature also notes that he's raised more than $20,000 via a Kickstarter campaign to fund his forthcoming third album and follow up to This Gigantic Robot Kills.

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MC Lars

News (26 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

Dante3000 (rich) (May 23, 2011)

Hold on, everything else aside, what the shit does MC Lars need with $20,000 to make a new album? Has he ever produced anything that sounded like it cost more than $15 to write and record? I think I'll start a Kickstarter to raise $50,000 for an art show of second grader's fingerpaintings.

JeremyS (May 23, 2011)

the pledge goal was only $5,000 and people ended up donating $23,000+

veganboyjosh (May 23, 2011)

yeah, but the point still stands.

Dante3000 (rich) (May 23, 2011)

I'm not faulting him at all. No one made people give money (though I guess he could have capped it at like $5,000). Still...That's a lot of mediocre for $23,000.

regreteverything (May 23, 2011)

http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/i-FKNNKxh/0/L/i-FKNNKxh-L.jpg

regulartrite (May 23, 2011)

I haven't seen a PA comic in a while, but what happened to the art style? jeez

holy_balls (May 23, 2011)

white people are always asking for money.

regreteverything (May 23, 2011)

"...An' tha brotha's all be drivin' like dis:"

nickvicious (May 23, 2011)

Can I have a dollar? I'll forward you my Pay Pal info.

Skibz777 (May 23, 2011)

I don't think most people would mind MC Lars being profiled on this site, but don't try to shallowly justify his inclusion by perpetuating a completely made-up and meaningless self-appointed label like "post-punk laptop rap" as if it were a legitimate genre or scene. Is it because it's got the word "punk" in it? It's barely a step above, say, "watermelon cock rock" or "hot cocoa slamcore". Why not just "rapper"? What difference does it honestly make?

Apeman_on_the_moon (May 23, 2011)

If you are going to object to non-punk artists being featured on this site, you've got about 500+ reviews to go complain about.

IDontHaveAnAccountYet (May 23, 2011)

Whadaya mean? Ninja Turtles are punk!

Skibz777 (May 23, 2011)

Since I blatantly said I did NOT object to MC Lars being profiled on this site, it's obvious that's not the problem I was addressing in my post.

leecorsoisapenis (May 24, 2011)

Apeman_can't_read.

aubin (May 23, 2011)

That's what he describes his sound as. See his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MC_Lars or Urban Dictionary: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=post%20punk%20lapt op%20rap

Skibz777 (May 23, 2011)

I'm aware. Lots of artists conceive wacky terms to describe their unique sound or aesthetic, and I'm fine with that, but it doesn't give them any merit as a legitimate genre. "Nerdcore hip-hop", for instance, is an actual scene. "Post-punk laptop rap" is a facetious self-created term exclusively applied to one artist and means absolutely nothing. I mean, I know what it means in relation to MC Lars' music, but he's still categorized by the entirety of the media under hip-hop or a derivative of hip-hop, because that's what he is, only with a punk influence and laptop sampling, both of which have been done before.

I don't know why I'm so vehemently opposed to this, but as far as introducing an artist under the made-up genre he calls himself, at least use sarcastic quotation marks or something.

IamtheAvatar (May 23, 2011)

I doubt anyone other than a rapper would compare Poe to Kanye West. Get that shit out of herel

jimmy_jazz (May 23, 2011)

Maybe that was a subtle reference to "The Fall of the House of Usher". Usher and Kanye have worked together in the past.

laserguidedbygod (May 23, 2011)

After "Hot Topic Is Not Punk Rock" and "Generic Crunk Rap", do you really think subtlety is something MC Lars is capable of?

xbat-mitex (May 24, 2011)

Unfortunately a pair of Social Collision jeans at hot topic are way cheaper than a pair of the Dogpile zombie jeans, or lip service stretch jeans. just sayin

Misanthropee (May 23, 2011)

I have a feeling he's saying he embraces "piracy" due to a loaded line of questioning by CNN, whose parent company is notorious for pro-IP thuggery. If you condone it, it's not piracy (which is newspeak anyway, but that's a separate issue), it's sharing.

Thegimper (May 23, 2011)

I'm stoked for the new album and glad I was able to contribute to the kickstarter.

david5345 (May 23, 2011)

What makes someone a post-punk laptop rapper?

Skibz777 (May 23, 2011)

Because he samples punk and alternative songs with his laptop. How revolutionary.

holy_balls (May 24, 2011)

post-punk labtop rap is what came after punk labtop rap. but those wouldn't of been possible without proto-punk labtop rap.

porksoda (May 24, 2011)

MC Lars sucks. I saw him open for mc chris and I really tried to give him a chance, but there was just nothing enjoyable or catchy about his music. He came off as almost jock-ish, like I got the impression he thought he was cooler than everyone. If any nerd/"post punk laptop rappers" should be getting publicity, it should be mc chris, not Lars.